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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · chair · face · last · kid · game · foot · tube

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kid — to tease
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. face — to confront
  5. present — the time now
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — a gift
  8. last — to go on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kid — child
  12. face — to point toward
  13. last — finally
  14. foot — a measure
  15. present — there
  16. game — a match
  17. face — part of the head
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tube — a container
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com